Breathwork, the work with the breath, has been known in different cultures and traditions for thousands of years. We know pranayama from yoga, for example.

What is breathwork?

Today, the term Breathwork combines different breathing techniques that pursue different goals. What all techniques have in common, however, is that they all affect the nervous system.

The breath is used to calm or stimulate the nervous system, to experience other states of consciousness or simply to allow the body to be better experienced. There are breathwork techniques that aim to achieve a strong activation (e.g. Wim Hof method) or an altered state of consciousness (e.g. psychedelic breath). There is breathwork to establish a healthy breathing pattern, breathing meditations to promote interoception and transformative breathwork. The latter (especially if it is trauma-sensitive) aims to close stress cycles, gently integrate old unprocessed experiences and make you more stress-resistant for everyday life.

And all this just through your breath.